Their Next Assignment
by suzie2b
Summary: Sequel to "Carnival"


**Disclaimer:** _ **The Rat Patrol**_ **is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.**

 **Their Next Assignment**

 **By Suzie2b**

 **The four men of the Rat Patrol reported to Captain Boggs' office. Troy asked, "Can we assume that High Command has made a decision, sir?"**

 **Boggs nodded. "Intel has confirmed that German forces have pushed into Liberia and taken over the port at Monrovia, though no German ships have moved in yet. At this time they have the borders at Guinea and Cote d'Ivoire blocked. High Command's plans are that you go to Guinea-Bissau and board a boat in Bissau. The captain will take you along the coast and drop you outside of Monrovia. From there you are to get into the city and find out exactly what's going on. The Allies will be hitting the blocked borders in three days to attempt getting in and taking the port back. Once we get over the border things will depend on how long it takes to cross into Liberia." Tully had paled noticeably at the mention of a boat, but no one said anything. Boggs handed over a folder and said, "This will give you all the information we have."**

 **Troy took the folder and handed it to Moffitt. "We'll leave as soon as possible, captain."**

 **##################**

 **Hitch walked into the mess hall and sat down with Troy and Moffitt, who were going through the paperwork Captain Boggs had given them.**

 **Troy smiled as Hitch took a bite of the cinnamon roll he had sat down with. "Are the jeeps ready?"**

 **Hitch mumbled, "Yep, all set."**

" **Where's Tully?"**

 **Hitch took a sip of his coffee and swallowed. "Don't know. He said he had to go get something before we leave."**

 **A few minutes later Tully showed up and sat down with the others. Moffitt asked, "Everything all right, Tully?"**

 **The private nodded and said, "Yeah. I just had to go to medical." That's when Tully realized he should've kept his mouth shut.**

 **Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch looked at him suspiciously and Troy asked, "Are you sick?"**

" **Umm … no … I'm fine."**

" **Then what were you doing in medical?"**

 **Tully stammered, "I … ahh…"**

 **Troy growled, "Spit it out, Pettigrew."**

 **Tully sighed. He hated admitting it, but he said, "I had to get some of those seasick pills."**

" **Is that all?"**

 **Tully nodded innocently and Moffitt grinned as he said, "It's nothing to be embarrassed about. Lots of people get motion sickness."**

 **Tully shrugged as he pulled off a piece of Hitch's cinnamon roll. "I don't know why it bothers me … it just does."**

 **Hitch smiled at his friend. "You're welcome."**

 **Tully grinned as he popped the sweet morsel into his mouth. "Thanks."**

 **##################**

 **To get around the Germans patrolling the Guinea and Cote d'Ivoire borders the Rat Patrol drove through Mauritania and Senegal to finally reach Guinea-Bissau. The small coastal town of Bissau was made up mostly of fisherman of varying types.**

 **After asking for directions, they found the home of Samir, the boat captain that was to take them to Liberia. A woman answered the door as Troy and Moffitt approached and four children ran noisily outside. She smiled and asked in very good English, "May I help you?"**

 **The two men were surprised by her grasp of the language, but Moffitt smiled and said, "We're looking for Samir."**

 **She nodded. "We have been waiting for you. I am Lina. Take your cars around to the back. I will meet you at the door there."**

 **Lina told her husband their guests had arrived as she passed through the kitchen area to get to the back door. As she opened it, Lina heard Troy say, "Get the packs and whatever else we're gonna need. Then cover the jeeps with the tarps and meet us inside." He tossed his hat into the back of a jeep. "Hats, berets, and helmets stay here."**

 **Samir was waiting inside when Troy and Moffitt walked in. "Sergeant Troy?"**

 **The sergeant nodded and said, "This is Sergeant Moffitt."**

" **Good … good. I am glad to see that you have made it here. Did you run into any problems with the enemy along the way?"**

 **Troy said, "I'm pretty sure we got through unseen. At least we didn't see anyone." Hitch and Tully walked in with four packs and set them out of the way. "These are our men. Private Hitchcock and Private Pettigrew."**

 **Samir bowed slightly. "A pleasure."**

 **Tully gave a nod in greeting and Hitch said, "Nice to meet you." Then he looked at Troy. "How much ammo do you want us to carry, sarge?"**

 **Troy replied, "Two extra loaded clips each."**

" **Right." Hitch and Tully went back outside.**

 **Moffitt asked, "When are we leaving?"**

 **Samir said, "After dark. If we are seen, it will be assumed that we are going out to fish … which I will be doing after you are gone. It will be easy to return for you when the time comes"**

 **Troy and Moffitt amused themselves watching Hitch and Tully entertain the children with the juggling skills they'd picked up at the base's recent carnival.**

 **Troy smiled. "They're pretty good at that, aren't they?"**

 **Moffitt grinned and said, "Especially since they just started. Linda and I watched a couple of jugglers teach them the basics. They've been having a bit of fun with it."**

 **Hitch and Tully were juggling balled up pairs of socks from their packs. They were facing each other as they tossed the "balls", which delighted the children. Then Tully said, "Let's try passing them back and forth like the jugglers on base were doing."**

 **Hitch smiled. "I'm game."**

" **Okay, here we go." They started to juggle, then Tully said, "One … two … three."**

 **The balls flew across the small room … and promptly hit Lina as she appeared with their evening meal. She stopped and looked first at Hitch, then at Tully, while the children laughed uproariously. Lina smiled and said, "You boys need more practice. Then she looked at the platter she held and saw a balled up pair of socks in the middle of the food. "Please tell me these are clean."**

 **Tully carefully extracted the socks as he apologized, "Yes, ma'am. Sorry about that."**

 **They ate with the family and waited for Samir and Lina to put the children down for the night before they gathered their things and followed Samir to the harbor. The small trawler they boarded had** نَجْم ضَوْء **/** نور **painted on the bow. Samir took them below and said, "You should stay out of sight … just to be safe." Then he left them to give orders to his men.**

 **Hitch asked, "Hey, Moffitt, what's the writing on the front mean?"**

 **Moffitt smiled slightly at Hitch's curiosity. "Loosely translated it means 'Star Light'."**

" **Interesting name for a boat."**

 **Troy said, "Okay, let's get comfortable."**

 **Hitch asked, "How long will it take us to get to the drop off point?"**

 **Moffitt replied, "Oh, I would guess about twenty-four hours, give or take a little. Tully, did you take one of your pills?"**

 **He nodded. "Took it right after dinner. I can take one every six hours."**

 **##################**

 **The trawler pulled into an isolated Liberian cove and lowered a life boat into the water. The Rat Patrol climbed down into it and by the light of the moon rowed ashore.**

 **By the time they reached the beach the trawler Star Light was little more than a point of light in the darkness. Troy, Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully pulled the small wooden boat up onto the sand above the tide line and flipped it over after offloading their supplies. They planned to use it to meet Samir later.**

 **They quickly pulled the Arabic robes and headscarves out of their packs and put them on over their clothes. Then they gathered the packs and guns to start on the two hour trek to Monrovia.**

 **When they reached their destination, the four Allies hid and watched the gate that would take them into the walled city. There were German guards searching everyone coming and going—not that there were many people out at that time of night.**

 **Troy frowned and said, "If we get searched, it's game over."**

 **Moffitt thought for a moment, then said, "I have an idea."**

 **When Troy, Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully got close to the gate, Moffitt left his machine gun with Tully and whispered, "Keep the guns out of sight and wait for my signal."**

 **Moffitt left them there hiding in the dark and approached the gate. One of the guards stopped him with the intention of searching him. The sergeant pushed the guard's hands away as he started to berate him loudly and angrily in Arabic. As Moffitt expected the low ranking German couldn't understand a word he was saying, but was trying to get a handle on the situation. After some loud arguing in conflicting languages, the second guard stepped up, but was of no help at all.**

 **Troy, Moffitt, and Tully watched as Moffitt led the two guards' around in a circle so their backs were to them, the whole time he kept talking loudly and gesturing. The guards didn't notice when Moffitt signaled the others to go through the gate.**

 **The three Americans moved quickly and waited inside for Moffitt. Thirty seconds later, the "irate" sergeant stepped through the gate to join them.**

 **Tully handed Moffitt his gun with a smile. "I take it you weren't searched?"**

 **Moffitt slung the strap onto his shoulder with a smile of his own. "They finally gave up and shooed me away."**

 **Troy said, "Okay, even though we have a diagram of this place we've never been here before and this place is crawling with Germans, so I don't need to warn you to be careful. Let's find a place to hide until morning."**

 **The few people they encountered didn't give the Allies a second look as they moved easily through the streets. They kept their weapons hidden in there robes as they followed the little map that had been with the paperwork Captain Boggs had provided. Troy wanted to be close to where the Germans had set up headquarters. Somewhere they could keep their eyes on things.**

 **The building they found had been noted as abandoned on their map, and it appeared that it still was.**

 **Inside the two story building, Troy said quietly, "We don't need anyone getting curious. Flashlights only as needed and away from the windows. Tully, you're on first watch."**

 **Hitch asked, "Why are we waiting? We do some of our best work at night."**

 **Moffitt said, "They've taken the port, but haven't brought in any ships to take advantage of it. At least not yet."**

 **Troy added, "You can bet the Krauts have something in mind. It's our job to find out what that is before the Allies get here."**

 **##################**

 **The sun was coming up when Moffitt nudged his partner awake. "Troy's given us a job to do."**

 **Tully yawned and sat up. "What're we doing?"**

" **Since we couldn't pack food in with us, we're on breakfast detail."**

 **Dressed in their Arabic garb Moffitt and Tully headed out, unarmed, to find something to eat.**

 **As they approached the marketplace, Moffitt and Tully noticed there were an awful lot of people wandering around for early morning. The sergeant kept his ears open for any information. Tully followed, his face covered except for his eyes, which were darting about as he looked for any possible problems.**

 **When they returned to their hiding place, Moffitt explained, "We've come at the time of their harvest festival. There are people coming in from all over to celebrate."**

 **Tully laid out fruit, falafel, flatbread, and lamb skewers. "We found a well and were able to fill our few canteens."**

 **Troy asked, "Did anyone see you? American canteens would stand out around here."**

" **No, the well's behind a building. No one was there when we were. If we have to fill 'em again, we'll do it at night." Tully took some food and said, "I'll go upstairs and keep an eye on headquarters."**

" **Good. As soon as we've eaten, Moffitt and I will go out and take a look around."**

 **After the sergeants left, Hitch joined Tully upstairs, where he found his friend sitting on an old wooden chair eating a lamb skewer at the window. "See anything?"**

 **Tully said, "Yeah, lots … none of it good."**

 **Hitch knelt next to his friend and peered out the window. There were both Arabs and Germans everywhere. "Geez, look at the people!"**

" **And that's just around headquarters." Tully sighed and said, "According to what Moffitt heard this festival's supposed to last three days and it starts today."**

" **Well, that's good for us, I guess. We won't stand out as strangers dressed like this."**

" **Yeah, but there's the possibility of military fighting here in the city. With all these civilians, a lot of people could die."**

 **Hitch and Tully watched the crowd in silence for well over an hour, then several German supply trucks showed up. What they saw being unloaded made their blood run cold. Munitions of all shapes and sizes were being taken into what they thought was headquarters.**

 **Hitch frowned with disbelief. "They're actually storing ordnance where their high ranking officers are working?"**

 **Tully nodded. "Doesn't make sense, does it."**

" **Do you think our map is wrong and that's not headquarters?"**

" **There's only one way to find out."**

 **Hitch said, "Troy will have our heads if we're not here when he and Moffitt get back."**

 **Tully stood up. "That's why I'm going alone."**

 **Hitch was incredulous. "That's crazy! You can't go in alone!"**

" **We need to know if we're watching headquarters or an ammo dump."**

" **We should wait for Troy and Moffitt."**

 **Tully shook his head. "I don't think it's a good idea to wait."**

 **Hitch said, "Tully…"**

 **Tully watched as crates stenciled "MUNITION" and "HANDGRANATEN", and others that were suspiciously unmarked were carried into the building. "No, I'll go in and take a look around. Save us some time when Troy and Moffitt get here." He leaned his machine gun against the wall, not intending to take it along. "I'll only be gone an hour."**

 **Hitch sighed in resignation, knowing it was useless to argue when Tully set his mind on something. "Be careful."**

 **##################**

 **Tully made sure the lower half of his face was covered as he hurried along the street through the throngs of people. The marketplace had spread from its usual location as more spaces were set up with wares to sell.**

 **As he neared the building in question, Tully climbed up on a low wall to see over the sea of humanity. The trucks had obviously been emptied, as they were being slowly driven away, their drivers blaring their horns in hopes of getting people out of the way.**

 **Tully hurried to the building and followed several Arabs inside. Germans were standing guard at one of the hallways. As soon as he could, Tully slipped away into the next hallway he came to. He passed only a few people, both Arab and German, but no one paid him any notice.**

 **When he came to an unguarded set of stair, Tully took them. They led down into a room. He quickly found a switch and flipped on the bare overhead lightbulb. Tully looked around the empty room and thought silently, "The Germans took the time to wire this place for light. They must be gonna use it for something."**

 **Then Tully saw a ventilation grate in one wall. He turned off the light and walked across the room to the wall. The grate was above his head, but the ceiling was low, so with a bit of stretching Tully was able to pull the grate free. Then he hoisted himself into the concrete duct.**

 **Tully crawled through the stale air and darkness until he reached a "T". He looked right and saw a dim light glowing through a grate. Then he looked to his left to see another light, but he got a faint whiff of fresh air from that direction. Tully chose to go right.**

 **At the end of the tunnel, he found himself peering through a grate. The room was large and well lit … piled high with all means of explosives and ammunition. Tully could hear German voices talking about how they were waiting for their ships to arrive so armament could be easily transferred to locations along the coast. Liberia was small and easy to defend in their opinion, an excellent place for staging.**

 **When Tully slid out of the duct back where he'd entered it he quickly replaced the grate and headed for the stairs. At the top, he took a quick look around before going into the hallway. At that same moment, two Germans rounded the corner at the other end. Tully was trapped.**

 **The Germans of course immediately saw an Arab in a place where he shouldn't be and rushed to apprehend him as they told him how much trouble he was in. Tully shook his head and shrugged in an attempt to make them believe he didn't understand. One guard pointed at the stairs, asking angrily what he was doing down there. Again Tully mutely shook his head.**

 **The second guard was looking the "Arab" up and down suspiciously when he happened to notice the military issue boots he was wearing. He glowered at Tully and pulled the scarf away from his face. "Er ist Amerikaner!"**

 **Before Tully could react, he was hit with the butt of a German rifle and his world went black.**

 **##################**

 **Troy and Moffitt returned to their little hideaway to find the downstairs empty. Troy called quietly as he stood at the bottom of the stairs, "Hitch! Tully!"**

 **Hitch appeared at the top of the stairs. "I'm here, sarge."**

 **The sergeants went up and immediately noted someone's absence. Moffitt asked, "Where's Tully?"**

 **Hitch had returned to the window and stared out at the building. "He's over there."**

 **Troy and Moffitt joined him. Troy growled, "What's he doing over there?"**

 **Moffitt said, "We found out that's not headquarters as we were told."**

 **Hitch nodded. "Tully and I saw some trucks pull up over there. They offloaded grenades, ammunition, and some crates that weren't even marked and took the stuff inside. Tully insisted on checking it out to be sure."**

 **Moffitt scowled. "He** _ **can**_ **be stubborn at times."**

 **Troy sighed. "Yeah. How long has he been gone?"**

 **Hitch looked at his watch and said, "Almost three hours. He told me he'd only be gone an hour."**

" **All right. Tully is either stuck somewhere waiting to get out or he's in trouble."**

 **Moffitt said, "Troy and I found where their real headquarters in a building that overlooks the harbor. If this building is being used to house ordnance and Tully has been caught…"**

 **Troy gave a nod. "Do we go try to find him or wait?"**

 **Hitch said, "Tully would be back by now if he the Germans didn't get him."**

 **Moffitt said, "We know now where their headquarters are. They would no doubt take him there for questioning."**

 **Troy argued, "That's if he has been captured."**

 **Hitch started, "But, sarge…"**

 **Moffitt interrupted, "Troy, you and Hitch can go to headquarters. I'll check this apparent supply depot. I'll be able to talk my way out of pretty much anything if I'm questioned."**

 **Troy frowned at the two men and then stared out at the street below. "All right. Dressed like locals we just might be able to pull this off." He looked at Moffitt and said with all seriousness, "If you don't find Tully, you come back here. Do not come looking for Hitch and me. Got it?"**

 **Moffitt nodded. "I understand."**

 **##################**

 **Tully opened his eyes and slowly lifted his head. He was in a chair, his arms behind him, tied at the wrists with his arms pulled painfully together and tied at the elbows. There was rope around his chest and the chair holding him upright. Tully tried to move his feet, but they were tied to the chair as well. He had a headache and could feel the swelling on the left side of his face and around his eye where he'd been hit by the rifle.**

 **A voice said, "Good, you are awake."**

 **Tully looked around groggily. He spotted a man sitting behind a desk, but didn't say anything.**

" **I am Colonel Richter. I have some questions to pose to you, private." Tully stared at him silently. "I cannot believe that you, an American dressed as an Arab, are here in German occupied Monrovia alone. Where are your comrades?"**

 **Tully said quietly, "Do you really think I'm going to admit to or tell you anything?"**

 **Richter smiled humorlessly. "No, I suppose not. At least not right away."**

 **##################**

 **Moffitt had no problem getting into the building, much the same way Tully had. He found a place out of the way and stood listening to the conversations around him.**

 **It soon became obvious that the Arab populace was more concerned with their festival than anything else. However, from the Germans that passed by Moffitt heard snippets of conversation about an American being caught snooping around the munitions. And then two German officers met in the hall just a few feet from the corner Moffitt stood in. That's when he discovered for sure that Tully had been taken to headquarters to be questioned by Colonel Richter.**

 **As soon as he could, Moffitt left the building to return to hiding and wait for Troy, Hitch, and hopefully Tully.**

 **##################**

 **Hitch followed Troy easily through the streets, their attire still keeping them hidden in the crowds. Their guns hidden in the fold of the robes they wore. The sergeant walked into headquarters the same way he and Moffitt had done earlier.**

 **As they moved through a work area, where Arabs were being employed by the Germans to do simple tasks, Troy picked up some files without stopping and handed half of them to Hitch. It would be best to look busy, and it had worked last time.**

 **They went up a set of stairs and began to carefully check any room that had a closed door. First listening, then looking inside, and occasionally using them to hide from the enemy. They found a storage room and several rooms set up as offices that were currently unoccupied.**

 **Then Troy and Hitch came to a door and heard a voice loudly asking questions that were going unanswered. Troy first held a finger to his lips, telling Hitch to remain silent, then he held up three fingers and counted down before rushing inside just as Colonel Richter backhanded Tully across the face.**

 **Richter spun to see two Arabs, faces covered, holding guns on him. He demanded, "What is the meaning of this?"**

 **Troy silently signaled Hitch to go to Tully, who appeared unconscious, then indicated to the colonel with his machine gun that he should sit down in the chair at his desk.**

 **Hitch lightly tapped Tully on the cheek until he opened his eyes and looked into his friend's with recognition. From the folds of his robes Hitch produced a knife and began to cut the ropes.**

 **Troy pulled the cord from a window shade and tied Richter to his chair as the colonel said angrily, "If you have come for him, you are as American as he is!"**

 **The sergeant quickly checked the colonel's pockets and found a dirty handkerchief, which he stuffed into the protesting Richter's mouth to silence him.**

 **Once Tully was free and, somewhat wobbly, on his feet, Hitch grabbed Tully's headscarf off the desk and helped his friend get it on to hide his bruised face.**

 **Troy and Hitch then pushed the desk, along with Colonel Richter, back against the wall, wedging the bound man so he couldn't move until someone found him.**

 **Still silent, Troy led Hitch and Tully from the office. They quickly, but calmly walked down the stairs and out onto street, where they were swallowed by the crowd.**

 **They wound their way around and through alleys until they reached the building where Moffitt was anxiously waiting. By then Hitch was steadying an exhausted and injured Tully. Hitch got him to the nearest wall and helped him to sit on the floor while Moffitt grabbed water as he said, "I was beginning to worry."**

 **Troy uncovered his face and said, "We interrupted his interrogation. As soon as the colonel we left tied up gets loose, I'm sure they'll be looking for us."**

 **Hitch got Tully's head and face uncovered as Moffitt knelt to help him drink from a canteen and said, "This isn't good. We don't have the information we need yet."**

 **Tully swallowed and coughed, then said, "I heard 'em talkin', sarge."**

 **Troy asked, "What did you hear, Tully?"**

" **They've got tons of munitions stashed in the basement of that building we thought was headquarters. They're using Monrovia as a staging area. I heard 'em say they're waitin' on their ships so the stuff can be transferred to places along the coast."**

" **Did they anything about when the ships would get here?"**

 **Tully shook his pounding head slowly. "They didn't mention that while I was there."**

 **Troy gave a nod and said, "Okay, good work. But we're going to discuss your methods of getting the information later."**

 **Moffitt began to gently clean the blood off Tully's face as he asked, "How do you want to handle this?"**

 **Hitch stood up as he said, "We can't blow their ammo dump. Not with so many civilians in town."**

 **Troy paced the room as he thought, then said, "We can't blow that building, but we can blow the harbor."**

 **Moffitt said, "Surely we don't have enough explosives with us for that."**

" **Yeah, I'm still working on that part." Troy looked at Tully and said, "For now, get some rest. We'll stay here as long as we can. Hitch, keep watch upstairs."**

 **##################**

 **The sun would be down in two hours when they heard it—a ship's whistle as it pulled into the harbor.**

 **Troy said, "Moffitt and I will go take a look. You and Hitch stay put." He looked seriously at Tully. "And I mean 'stay put' this time."**

 **Tully sighed. "Don't worry, sarge. I'm stayin' right here."**

 **Troy and Moffitt moved quickly to a vantage point overlooking the beach. Sure enough, a German supply ship was being tied up at the docks. That's when Troy got his idea on how they would blow up the harbor.**

 **They returned to their refuge and met the privates upstairs. Troy asked, "Have they started moving anything?"**

 **Hitch shook his head. "Not yet."**

 **Three hours after sundown, trucks began to pull in and park in front of the supply building. Tully quietly called down to Troy and Moffitt, "We've got activity, sarge!"**

 **Troy and Moffitt went up and looked out the window as men, both German and Arabic, began to load the trucks.**

 **Hitch asked, "Do you think the Germans are still looking for us?"**

 **Moffitt said, "I'm sure they are. They just haven't gotten this far yet."**

 **One truck pulled away and started down the now mostly deserted street in the direction of the harbor. Troy said, "Let's shake it."**

 **##################**

 **They watched as truck after truck was offloaded into the hull of the ship.**

 **Moffitt whispered, "I assume you've come up with a plan by now, Troy."**

 **The sergeant nodded into the dark. "Yeah, see that fueling station on the dock?" Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully all nodded and Troy continued, "There's a hose running from that station to the refueling boat that's taking care of the ship. All we have to do is blow the station and let nature take its course."**

 **Moffitt asked, "What about the guards? They're going to be expecting us."**

 **Troy smiled. "We do what always do."**

 **Hitch chuckled softly. "Let mayhem and destruction reign supreme."**

 **The still low moon winked in and out of the passing clouds as the four Allies made their way down to the docks. They had rigged the explosives in their packs with timers and had ditched their Arab costumes. They just had to get the stuff out to the fueling station without being seen.**

 **Troy and Moffitt each held two packs while Hitch and Tully approached the two guards at the end of the pier. The only light was the one at the station, which was at the far end. With a single quick, silent, and deadly blow to each of the guards' heads with their machine gun butts Hitch and Tully grabbed them as they fell and dragged them away.**

 **When the privates reappeared to take the guards places, Troy and Moffitt went to do their job.**

 **The sergeants dashed out onto the darkened dock. They found one German manning the fuel station, watching the hose that ran out to the small refueling boat. He was quickly and quietly dispatched, and then Troy and Moffitt set about planting their explosives.**

 **Hitch and Tully waited nervously as the minutes ticked by. A German soldier, apparently off duty and under the influence of alcohol, staggered slightly as he stopped in front of Hitch. He slurred his words a bit as he pulled out a cigarette and asked, "Haben Sie ein Licht?"**

 **Hitch looked at his friend for help. Tully took a step over and silently pulled a match out of his shirt pocket, lit it with his thumb nail, and held it out so the German could light his cigarette.**

 **With that done, Tully dropped the match and stepped on it as the other man said, "Danke." Then he staggered off into the darkness, blissfully unaware of what was soon going to happen.**

 **Suddenly, Hitch and Tully heard quiet running feet and turned to see Troy and Moffitt coming their way. They met at the end of the pier and the four of them ran for the quickest way to the beach that lay beyond the pier the ship was docked at.**

 **They ran past the guards and between trucks leaving and arriving at the pier. The startled guards shouted at them to halt and fired a warning shot. Of course the Allies kept going as a frantic German voice yelled at the soldiers to cease fire for fear a stray bullet might hit one of the loaded trucks and set off what was inside.**

 **As they ran down the beach, Troy, Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully could hear a group of Germans chasing them. It had been a two hour walk from the boat … the chances of getting back to it at a dead run wasn't likely.**

 **Troy led his men to some clumps of beach grass where they ducked down to wait. Just as the Germans appeared, the moon made an appearance to light the beach. Troy, Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully stepped out of hiding and gunned every one of them down.**

 **Then there was a roar as the explosives went off. First a smaller "boom" as the fueling station went up. Moments later a huge explosion shook the ground and lit the sky.**

 **Tully said quietly, "Well, I don't think they're gonna bother to send anyone else after us."**

 **When they reached their boat, they flipped it over and dragged it down to the water. As Hitch and Tully manned the oars, Moffitt said, "I don't suppose you've had a chance to take one of those motion sickness pills, have you, Tully."**

 **The private growled, "Dang! Now it's too late."**

 **Moffitt smiled. "Better late than never. Let me take over there while you take one."**

 **The small lifeboat with its four passengers bobbed in the sea for several hours, a compass the only thing that kept them from drifting off their designated course.**

 **Tully saw a tiny light blinking in the darkness. "That might be our ride now."**

 **Troy took a chance that it was Samir and signaled back with his flashlight.**

 **##################**

 **Once they were safely again at Bissau, Troy sent a coded message to headquarters to say "mission accomplished."**

 **The Rat Patrol spent the night and Lina insisted on feeding them before they left. She was delivering a platter of food to the table when something whizzed by her face and she came to a sudden stop with a gasp. Lina frowned as she looked from Tully to Hitch, noting the balled up socks they both held, as the children laughed gleefully. Then she smiled and said, "At least it didn't land in the food this time."**

 **That evening they took cover in a wadi. Hitch handed Tully a plate of mystery meat and potatoes from a can and asked, "How're you feeling?"**

 **Tully took the plate with a sigh. "My shoulders and arms are still sore." He carefully touched his healing split lip and smiled slightly as he said, "Aspirin's a great invention."**

 **Troy said, "Okay, Tully, I'd like to know just why you thought you should go out alone to check that ammo dump."**

 **Tully chewed slowly and swallowed. "Hitch and I saw those trucks come in and watched them offload. We realized they were storing ordnance in that building. I thought it would be best, and save some time, if I went in to see exactly what was in there."**

 **Hitch said, "It didn't make sense that they would store ammo inside their headquarters."**

" **I wanted to make sure we were watchin' the right building. If it wasn't headquarters, then…"**

 **Troy said, "All right, I understand what you did and why. My question is why did you go alone?"**

 **Tully said, "Hitch didn't want me go by myself, but I insisted. I figured someone should be there if you and Moffitt got back before me." He saw the look in Troy's eyes. "In boot camp they drilled into us that good soldiers take initiative wherever and whenever we can. I made the decision to go in and go in alone. I thought it was the right thing to do at the time and I'd do it again."**

 **Troy finally nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I'm not saying it was the best way to go about it, but you made a decision and saw it through. The information you got turned out to be important." He smiled slightly and said, "Just next time don't get caught." When Tully finally gave a bit of a smile and a nod, Troy said, "If you feel up to it, go take first watch after you're done eating."**

 **A short time later Tully had finished his meal and was heading out on watch. Hitch was cleaning up and stowing their gear. Troy and Moffitt were sitting by the fire, lost in their own thoughts.**

 **Finally, Moffitt said, "You know, if Tully hadn't taken the initiative as he did, we may not have known what was going on until it was too late."**

 **Troy nodded. "Yeah, I was thinking about that too. He can be so quiet at times I occasionally forget how smart he really is."**

 **Hitch appeared with a slip of paper that he handed to Troy. "Headquarters just called. Our guys got through the border blockade and are on their way to Liberia."**

 **Moffitt grinned. "What do you think Captain Boggs is going to say when he finds out we blew up Monrovia's harbor?"**

 **Troy flipped his finished cigarette into the fire with a quiet chuckle. "To be honest, I don't intend to find out." He looked up at Hitch and said, "Why don't you go give Tully the good news."**


End file.
